Basic Tuning: HELP!

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Great, guys. I agree and completely understand that it needs to be timed before tuning the carb. If it has come across any other way it wasnt intended.

So here is what I see from Prines explanation that makes very good sence, and that is to have the initial fire up, to be practically instant. BUT Im sure that there are many other factors that could play into whether a car will fire on an instant. Coil, condition of ECU and so-on.
Assuming I am dealing with equiptment that is in decent running condition, none of that SHOULD be an issue.
I left the car home today and plan to get back to tuning it this weekend. I have a nice craftsman advancible timing light. I have to be honest though, Im not real confident on how to use the "advacing" part of it, but Ill be sure to read up on it.
That will be the first place I start.
I plan to rebuild the carb soon as well. Should I bother tuning yet? Or should I rebuild the carb this weekend and then tune, to a carb thats in "good" shape?
Sorry if this seems all over the place here. As you can see there are many slightly different ways I have been instructed to do this. Now its a matter of picking out the similarities and being able to apply them correctly.
I thank you all for your input here. As I said, I want to actually learn and comprehend this information, as much as I want my car to run good.
Thx guys.
 
If rebuilding the carb in in the plan you might as well do it first otherwise you'll just be tuning it twice. Plus if it's real bad now it'll be hard to tune so you could be wasting a lot of effort for nothing.
 
I'd rebuild the carb first, yes. My point was that there is a very easy way to get it runnign to where you CAN really tune it. But that comes a lot later. After you have a basic understanding of things and after it'a already running semi decently. That's why I said 10°... you dont need an advancing light nor know how to use it. Simply put the mark ont eh baalncer on the 10 before mark and lock it down. It will run and start easy. Then get used to adjusting the carb stuff. Idle speed, then mix, then speed again, then mix again.... Then we'll get into the more advanced stuff. Baby steps....
 
Sounds good. I noticed a bit of very minor leakage around the accelerator pump on the carb. Not to mention it has been sitting for quite some time and Im unsure if it has ever been rebuilt. Sounds like a project for this weekend! Time to clean off the bench again.

OK so, I have a question that may very well answer itself anyhow.

Will pinging (pre-igntion) < (that may be the answer here), be heard if the timing is too far retarded?
I ask this because if not, (just for ref) Ill back the timing off a bit more til' the pinging is completely gone. As of now it pings when under load or durring hard accleration.
Thoughts?
 
Yup... Too much ignition lead leads to pinging, also a lean mixture under load or WOT can make it ping.
 
Carb DONE!
Just spent the last couple hours rebuilding the carb and stinking up the garage and apparently the house too. I cant smell it inside though! Hehe:-D:-D

Well, the carb was in horrible need of a rebuild. Once I opened it up and seen all the junk in the bowl, it was very obvious it was well overdue!
It looked like some one use my carb as a Coffee maker and didnt use a filter! I have pics, but Ill get them up tomorrow.
As for now, Ill have to put the car all back together tomorrow after I do the "house junk".

Question....... When I set the "base point" for the idle screws during the rebuild, I noticed when I screwed the right one in, it didn't bottom out til it completely compressed the spring. This doesn't seem right. Should I be concerned?
The left one felt just fine. I was able to run it in and felt it get slightly tighter, and I then backed it out the 1-1/2-----2 turns that the rebuild instructions say.
But again the right one never seemed to hit a seat. Just kept going til' it compressed the spring. I didnt feel any resistance at all. (other than the spring of course)

Other thing.
When adjusting the rod that opens the secondaries. The instructions say " THE SECONDARIES SHOULD JUST BEGIN TO OPEN WHEN THE PRIMARY VALVES ARE OPEN 13/32". So I adjusted it accordingly to do so, and the next step is to set the stop for how far the Secondaries can actually open. It says to bend a tab so the secondaries can only open 85 out of the full 90 degrees. Problem is, the way they say to adjust the secondaries on the previous step, opens the secondaries so late, that it only opens the secondary valves to about 75/80degrees.
I dont even need the stop for the secondaries because the "throw" of the attached rod will not make it open anywhere near 90degrees.

I understand what I have done is keep the secondaries from opening too soon, and it may help gas mileage, but at this point if I really get in the throttle, I wont be getting all I can from the secondaries, because they wont open to the recommended setting.

I went back at least five times to make sure I adjusted that attaching rod correctly.
There are two things that bother me about this. First I want all I can get outta my carb!
Second, I am thinking I shouldn't have had to adjust that rod. The dam thing is tough as hell to bend, so I know it didn't just get out of wack.
That's not to say someone else didn't change it prior to me owning the carb though.
So thats where I stand with it for the moment.

Ohhhhh, I have another question. This is just for clarification.
IF.... the idle set screw were all the way backed off, and the primaries were COMPLETELY closed, the "idle adjustment screws" and the associated passages, are what is supposed to feed the appropriate fuel/air mixture for it to continue to run, correct?

If this is the case, is it ideal, or even possible to get it set like that?
Just trying to understand what does what. Thanks again guys!
 
Which Edelbrock carb do you have? Did you buy it new or second hand? The needle that will not bottom out... If you remove the spring and thread it in, will it seat eventually? Have you tried swapping the mixture screw preload springs to see if it's the wrong spring? If the throttle plates are closed the engine should die. If the mixture screws are turned in too far, the engine shold die. I think you're paying way too much attention to the secondary link rod and timing. It's fine where it is.
 
OK well, I have a bit more time in tuning as of today. After I installed the carb again, I made sure all was well with the timing. It seems to be doing OK now, but apparently I dont have enough time doing this. I keep ending up with it running better, but I can tell I dont have it "dialed in".
I think at this point. Ill find somebody around here that is known to be good at tuning, to at least take a look at it.
All and all, I have gained something by the advice given. I appreciate it very much and learned a few things along the way!!!! Thanks guys that was exactly what I wanted to do!
 
I ended up, adjusting, driving, adjusting, driving. Just kept at it until the pinging was gone and it ran well. With a bit of tinkering, I have it pretty nice now. Gas Mi. is still not the greatest but......
Well, my foot to the floor seems to be the biggest issue.

Oh and I HAVE to run premium!!
Good luck and thx for all the help guys! I had forgotten about this thread after I got it running good!!! LOL HMmmmm I wonder why!!
 
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